Category: Uncategorized

So when is a smoking ban not a smoking ban? When it’s in Philadelphia, which I have decided today is the most messed up city in the USA. Don’t get me wrong…I still love Philly…but it’s still a really f’d up city.

OK…here’s the deal…Philadelphia City Council recently passed a smoking ban, but it allowed smoking to continue at outdoor cafes and restaurants. Well, some members of City Council thought that didn’t do enough so it decided to close that loophole.

As is customary in these types of things, that required a trade-off…so another part of the smoking bill was widened to allow a few more smaller neighborhood taprooms to permit smoking.

Well, yesterday, City Council hammered out the adjustments, which are scheduled to take effect January 8, and sent the bill to Mayor John Street for signing. However, there’s a catch. Once Mayor Street signs the revised smoking ban, the entire ban will be basically off the books throughout the city until it kicks in again with the adjustments January 8.

In other words, it will be smoking season again in Philadelphia…and just in time, too, because nothing spreads holiday cheer faster than second-hand smoke.

Here’s an excerpt from the article…

Philadelphia City Council tweaked the smoking ban yesterday, widening one loophole for neighborhood bars but closing another that permitted smoking at outdoor cafes and restaurants.

If signed by Mayor Street, the bill also would have the odd effect of sending smokers a little holiday gift: re-legalizing smoking in all bars and eateries until Jan. 8, when it is scheduled to take effect.

The adjustments have been in the works since June, when Councilman Frank DiCicco helped win the votes needed for the original ban by introducing a companion bill that would make the exemption for neighborhood bars permanent. It was the companion bill that Council passed yesterday, 15-2.

I just hope Mayor Street does not sign the bill today because I will be eating at a restaurant in the Northen Liberties section of Philly and going to the My Morning Jacket show at The Electric Factory tonight. It’s bad enough it’s going to be windy and raining outside…I don’t need to be spending my time indoors in a cloud of cigarette smoke.

The second series of the revised BBC series “Doctor Who” debuts tonight on SciFi channel with “The Christmas Invasion,” a 90-minute special (it originally aired last Christmas on BBC One), at 8 p.m. ET.

The actual first episode of the second series (or, in U.S. terms, season), “New Earth,” will follow at 9:30 p.m. ET. Both episodes will be repeated following the first showing of “New Earth.”

As you can see in the screen capture I have included here, Yahoo’s (or “Ya-Who,” in this case?) entertainment section lists “Doctor Who” as one of Friday night’s TV picks.

Who-ray!

Robert Downey Jr. has been cast as industrialist Tony Stark/superhero Iron Man in the upcoming film adaptation of the Marvel Comics character to be directed by Jon Favreau.

This casting choice is out of nowhere, but I think I like it a lot. The Stark character struggles with alcoholism and Downey’s personal problems with addiction gives him unique insight into that part of the character (although it is rumored the first “Iron Man” movie will not explore the alcoholism angle too much, if at all). I have never thought of Downey as a superhero, but he is definitely one of my favorite actors.

Downey reportedly pushed hard for the role, working out to get in shape for the character and growing a goatee to resemble the modern look of Tony Stark in the comic books.

“Iron Man” is scheduled for release on May 2, 2008.

Just watch it and you’ll understand…

Advancement Division Shows its ‘Heart’ for Heart Walk

Jaclyn Levi, Brian Kelley and Michael Scott ran in the 5K Race to Peak Performance, a companion event to the Heart Walk. This 5k was a first race for all three competitors.

I share an office with Mike…the Cathy mentioned in the story is my boss.

Well, the results have been posted for the American Heart Association’s 2006 Mercer County 5K Heart Run.

I finished in 56th place overall (out of 109 runners) with a time of 27 minutes, 54 seconds.

Official results

What these results also show is that I finished 12th out of 16 males between the ages of 30 and 39, which sucks. But at least I didn’t come in last within my gender-age group.

One of my fellow runners from Rider, Mike (who came in a very solid 19th overall), and I are planning to run another 5K next month. The Susan G. Komen Foundation N.J. Race for the Cure will be held just up the road from Rider at Bristol-Myers Squibb’s headquarters in Princeton on Oct. 29, so we’re thinking of registering for that.

Up until Saturday, the only running I had done was on the track near my apartment. I found it a lot easier to run on a course with other people pushing me than it is to run on a track, where I keep thinking to myself, “Eight more laps to go…seven more laps to go,” and so on.

Anyway, I’m going to try to do four or five 5K runs a year from now on…probably two or three from March-May and two or three in September and October. I’ll keep June-August open for cycling.

At the Giants-Eagles game, 9-17-06!

What a freakin’ awful loss by the Eagles…ugh. They kick the livin’ crap out of the Giants for 3 1/2 quarters and lose the game…and Jevon Kearse for the season. A freakin’ disaster. As I often say, it was like escaping the Titanic by climbing up onto the Hidenburg.

The basics of the audio post above:

1) Survived my first-ever 5K run.
2) Finished the run in 27 minutes, 50-something seconds (I think I found the site that will have the official results…will update all of you later).
3) Realized I didn’t get my Heart Walk/Run shirt from the American Heart Association. I guess it will get mailed once the donation amounts are confirmed. All I know is I better not get screwed out of that shirt.
4) I do have a nifty Rider-oriented Heart Walk shirt I wore during the race.

Again, thank you to those that donated. Your support for me and the fight against heart disease was very much appreciated.

Tomorrow, I’m going to the Giants-Eagles game at Lincoln Financial Field. So I will leave you with…

E-A-G-L-E-S! EAGLES!

Photo: Rider’s University Advancement team 5K runners — (L to R) Mike Scott, graphic designer for publications; The Bronc, mascot; Jacyln Levi, assistant director of annual giving; and me.

From minorleaguebaseball.com (MiLB.com):

The Lakewood BlueClaws won the first South Atlantic League championship in their six-year history Friday, riding the pitching of Matt Maloney to a 5-0 blanking of the Augusta GreenJackets.

Maloney (2-0) recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts en route to his first complete game of the season. He scattered seven hits and two walks in lowering his postseason ERA to 1.13.

The 22-year-old left-hander fanned 11 over seven innings against Lexington in the clincher of the Northern Division Finals on Sept. 8. He was named SAL Pitcher of the Year after going 16-9 with a 2.03 ERA and 180 strikeouts in 27 regular-season starts…

Full story…

Photo: Matt Mullen/MLB.com

It’s a bit overdue, but I finally reached my summer cycling goal of 200 miles when I (barely) completed a 41-mile ride earlier today in 2 hours, 52 minutes for an average speed of 14.3 miles per hour.

I basically did my 36-mile route and tacked on a five-mile loop along Route 35 south of the Mantoloking Bridge (basically from Herbert St. to 6th Ave. in the Normandy Beach section of Brick Twp. and back to the bridge).

Now, keep in mind, I have been using Google Maps to figure out my mileage so I’m sure there have been errors and I probably only did 195-198 miles, or something like that. But you know what? Since Google controls all the information on the planet, whatever Google says, is official in my book!

And the post title means what it says…I’m done with cycling for the year. I think my bike is shot. It just felt like it was about to fall apart on me today, so I think it was telling me something.

So I’ll just concentrate on running for the immediate future…get a new bike for next summer and set some new cycling goals for Tour de BK 2007!